Speculation on status of Matthew Stafford's knee injury still premature

The problem with trying to get the scoop on something is that you just might be getting taken.

I'm not sure who the source is on this story, but apparently someone's telling ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is doubtful for Sunday's game against the St. Louis Rams. At least, that's what Mike Florio is saying...

ProFootballTalk.com, Oct. 27: Per ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the Lions plan to proceed conservatively with Stafford's kneecap subluxation, in the hopes that he'll be able to play later in the year.

From the sound of it, then, don't look for Stafford to practice this week, or to play on Sunday when the Rams come to town for what could be the last, best chance for the team from St. Louis to avoid matching Detroit's 0-16 feat from a year ago -- which also would match Tampa's all-time mark of 26 straight losses.

Now, according to Stafford himself, he's going to try to participate when Detroit resumes practice on Tuesday.

The Detroit News, Oct. 26: "I don't know. I think I'll have a better thought about that maybe tomorrow. See if I can maybe run around a little bit and see how I'm feeling. I haven't done too much to test it in the last week, to tell you the truth. I've just been trying to rest it as much as I can."

No doubt, there's always the possibility of subterfuge on the part of Stafford or the Lions organization.

But I think the problem is that Mortensen is using faulty logic. He goes from "the Lions plan to proceed conservatively with Stafford's kneecap subluxation" to "From the sound of it, then, don't look for Stafford to practice this week, or to play on Sunday."

Proceeding conservatively doesn't necessarily mean he's not going to practice. It means they aren't just going to throw him into full practice today without first seeing how he responds to lighter work.

Quite simply, this is the strategy I think the Lions are using with Stafford's knee:

Exercise caution in treating the injury

Don't commit to a return date because we're not 100 percent sure

Get Stafford back to practice as soon as it's safe

Wait a day to see how his knee responds

If it responds well, proceed with participating in more phases of practice; if not, take a step back

The Lions return to practice today. I'm sure head coach Jim Schwartz will be as vague as always about the injury.

But it's probably an exercise in futility to speculate about Stafford's injury before he gets back to working out.